Birmingham has been ranked the most popular destination outside London for meetings, conferences and events by the fifth annual British Meetings & Events Industry Survey (BMEIS). The business tourism survey provides valuable research each year into the buying trends of more than 600 event organisers from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors in the UK. Birmingham remains ahead of Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds as the preferred UK regional events destination among industry professionals. The 2013/14 survey also revealed that ‘access’ and ‘location’ are the top influencing factors in selecting a destination, while city centre hotels enjoy more use than any other type of venue. The survey’s findings follow the third annual Meet Birmingham Showcase in November. The two-day event, organised by the city’s official business tourism programme Meet Birmingham, provided a comprehensive overview of the region’s conferencing offer. It brought together more than 50 regional suppliers and event buyers – who collectively place more than 20,000 events each year. Ian Taylor, commercial director of Marketing Birmingham, which operates Meet Birmingham, said: “Birmingham’s ranking as the preferred business tourism destination outside London highlights the wealth of event spaces that we offer across the region and the continued hard work […]
Read More

Some of Britain’s most famous broadcasters are blazing a trail in the Middle East, chairing conferences and hosting awards ceremonies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Household-name television news presenters, such as former BBC HardTalk presenter Tim Sebastian and Channel 4 News Washington correspondent Matt Frei, have become highly sought-after comperes for corporate functions in the region. The new trend comes as UK companies, especially publishing firms, increasingly stage events in the Middle East, where many of their readers are now based. Places such as Dubai have also become “popular regional centres” for functions because it is now easy to fly there direct from the UK. The popularity of some of the UK’s top, award-winning TV journalists has been revealed by Performing Artistes, one of Britain’s longest-established public speaker bureaux, who frequently deliver contracts in the Middle East. Read More
Read More

Advertorial Feature There can’t be many better places at which to develop strong and productive relationships with clients than top corporate hospitality events. Indeed, if you are to better attract and retain potentially lucrative clients, it is crucial that you use the corporate hospitality facilities at events that you know both you and your clients are likely to enjoy. If you are short of ideas of such events in the UK, then below are just a few examples for you to consider. Premier League There’s a good reason why football is called The Beautiful Game; however, why should you entertain your clients with just any game when you can have the best of The Beautiful Game? Draw on services like the Man Utd Executive Club hospitality and catering services and you and your clients can enjoy world class English football without even having to leave Greater Manchester. Read more: http://www.burnleyexpress.net
Read More